Hey, everyone, this is Justin Macumber. Well, it’s nearing the end of the year, and with the coming of that crisp autumn wind also comes the second annual writing contest. This year we decided to make this a contest about great opening chapters. If you want the reader to carry on past the opening of your book, you have to hook them, entice them, capture their attention and draw them in. That’s what this contest is all about. We don’t care about the genre, or the subject matter. All we want is something that will grab us and have us begging to read more. And keep in mind, it doesn’t have to be a cliffhanger. If you develop a strong enough premise and memorable characters, that can be enough to hook people.

The contest will run from October 1st to October 31st and the entries can’t be longer than 5,000 words. Email your chapter to show@deadrobotssociety.com. That’s it. Just make sure it hooks us, that it’s in before October’s over, and it’s within 5,000 words. We can’t wait to see what you fine folks have in store for us.

Now for the payoff. This year there won’t be just one winner, but many. The grand prize is an autographed copy of Scott Sigler’s out of print and damn near impossible to find novel “Ancestor.” And, not only is it autographed, but it will also be personalized to the winner. Other authors with names you’ll recognize have pledged autographed copies of their novels, including Tee Morris, Patrick Rothfuss, Mur Lafferty, A. Lee Martinez, Mathew Wayne Selznick, Pip Ballentine, and P.G. Holyfield! Be very excited. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

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This week we bring you a conversation with Doug Paul, the founder of Arctic Wolf Publishing, a small but mighty press. Doug started out as a writer, and he decided to turn his good fortune toward helping other writers get their break. Enjoy!

Justin wrote:

I’m not going to recriminate myself for not posting in awhile. I’ve done it before, it’ll happen again, and there are only so many times I can apologize and say I won’t do it again before I just start sounding hollow. So, there.

But, I do have some good news! I’m published! My short story, “Dark Running,” has been published in the September issue of Ray Gun Revival. If you want to read the story, please go HERE. I am thrilled to be part of their magazine, and I hope that they’ll want to publish more of my work in the future. I’m happy happy happy.

And, to make life even sweeter, I’ve also been notified that ”Dark Running” has won First Place in the FenCon V short story contest. FenCon is a science fiction and fantasy convention held in Dallas, and this is their fourth year to hold the competition. I entered the competition with no expectations whatsoever, so it was a real treat to see that it won, and First Place no less. w00t!

Anyway, things are going well for me right now, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep that going. Take care yourself, and come back!

You know, I have no idea how many people actually come here to read the show notes or posts, but even if all this is for an audience of 0, I should do a better job of making sure I keep the housekeeping up. So, let this post do that.

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Episode 48, Back From Dragon*Con.

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Well, Justin is back from Atlanta, and he thought this episode would be a good opportunity to relay what he learned, as well as tell a story about a chance encounter with a listener. After that Ryan talks about his difficulty with editing. Enjoy!

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Here are three panels that I think our listeners would enjoy and find informative from Dragon*Con

DRS Special Episode – Dragon*Con Panel #1 – Babbling Writers

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The Babbling Writers panel from Dragon*Con 2008, hosted by the Dead Robot Justin Macumber. On the panel were Tee Morris, Philippa Ballantine, PG Holyfield, JC Hutchins, Mur Lafferty, Mike Stackpole, and briefly Scott Sigler.

DRS Special Episode – Dragon*Con Panel #2 – Podcasting Your Writing

*click HERE to listen!*

Here is the second Dragon*Con panel I promised you. This is about podcasting your writing, and it is from the hardware/software side of things. It is from last year’s con, and I’m hoping that all of you gets something out of it.

DRS Special Episode – Dragon*Con Panel #3 – Writing For Audio

*click HERE to listen!*

And here is the third and final Dragon*Con panel that I thought would be of interest. It is about how to write for audio. The panel contains Mike Stackpole, Christiana Ellis, Tee Morris, PG Holyfield, JC Hutchins, Seth Harwood, and Swoopy is moderating.

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Episode 49 – It Was The Professor In The Study With The Candlestick!

*click HERE to listen.*

In this week’s exciting episode, Terry guides the Dead Robots down the dark and dangerous road that is the Mystery genre. So, pull your trench coats closed, tilt your fedoras, and make sure your guns are loaded. Enjoy!

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Episode 50 – Location Location Location

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This week the Dead Robots’ discuss the important topic of settings and locations. Are they just a place to have the action take place in, or can they be more? What senses best evoke the setting, and how can that setting best serve your story? Join us!

Amanda wrote:

Wow, I’ve been neglecting this thing haven’t I? So much for my brilliant plan to write in my blog everyday. Poor Dreamfall has also been neglected, despite my promises that I’d get to work on it once my laptop arrived. Truthfully, I’m not really that interested in writing right now. I get like this– [...]

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Justin wrote:

In my last post I was pretty down. I didn’t know what I wanted to do about my writing and podcasting, and everything generally just seemed to suck. Luckily, I’m back report that I’m in a much better mental place now. Having taken a vacation from work and from writing, as well as attending Dragon*Con, [...]

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